Abstract
Singapore criminal law, which is vigorously enforced, takes a wide view of corruption. Bargains procured by corruption are also invalid and in general not enforceable by either by the bribe giver or the bribe receiver. In many cases agents will be involved. Here key concepts are the ostensible authority of the agent and the fiduciary nature of the agent’s relationship. In the case of cross border transactions there is a Conflicts problem as to which law governs. Where Singapore law is the proper law agreements for corruption overseas are clearly void.
With apologies to Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone.
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Notes
- 1.
Tuesday October 21, 2014.
- 2.
A later story said that the fans had now become valuable because of this historic significance.
- 3.
For a full account of Act see Halsbury’s laws of Singapore volume 8, 90–801 to 90–823.
- 4.
Section 8.
- 5.
[2014] 2 SLR 1189.
- 6.
At para 320.
- 7.
TJ – the appellant’s judge’s abbreviation for trial judge.
- 8.
The Highest Court in Singapore.
- 9.
[2014] 4 SLR 600.
- 10.
[2014] 4 SLR 623.
- 11.
Para 45.
- 12.
The same four countries were ahead though not in the same order. They were (in alphabetical order) Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and Sweden. Singapore is a party to the UN Convention against Corruption.
- 13.
[1986] 1 AC 717. Note on English cases. Singapore became independent in 1965. At that date it could have been assumed that its Law of Contract and Tort were the same as English Law. That is certainly no longer true. There have been a number of cases in which the Singapore Court of Appeal has rejected decisions of the English House of Lords/Supreme Court. Nevertheless English cases are regularly cited in Singapore and where there is no Singapore decision the best guess is usually that the same rules apply.
- 14.
[2014] UKSC 45.
- 15.
It is not clear what advantage was sought on the facts of the present case.
- 16.
[2014] EWHC 3615 (Comm).
- 17.
Prevention of Corruption Act s37.
- 18.
The town where King Rudolf is imprisoned in the Prisoner of Zenda.
- 19.
[1929] 1 KB 470.
- 20.
[1929] 1 KB 520.
- 21.
[1958] AC 301.
- 22.
[1979–1980] SLR (R) 218. Regazzoni v Sethia was not cited.
- 23.
[1992] 1 SLR (R) 643.
- 24.
[1992] 2 SLR (R) 811.
- 25.
[1995] 1 SLR (R) 543.
- 26.
RA Buckley, Illegality and Public Policy, 3rd edn (London, Sweet & Maxwell, 2014) 10.05 to 10.09; J Hill and A Chong, International Commercial Disputes, 4th edn (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2010) 14.4.42 to 14.4.44.
- 27.
[1977–78] SLR (R) 547.
- 28.
[1988] 1 QB 448.
- 29.
[1994] 2 SLR (R) 605.
- 30.
[1954] 2 QB 428.
- 31.
[2014] 3 SLR 329.
- 32.
[2014] 3 SLR 329 at para 40.
- 33.
[2009] EWHC 3218 (QB).
- 34.
[1999] 1 QB 674.
- 35.
[1999] 2 Lloyds Rep 65. See also Omnium de Traitement v Hilmarton Ltd [1999] 2 All ER (Comm) 146.
- 36.
[1988] 1 WLR 1256.
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Furmston, M. (2015). For a Few Dollars More – Corruption in Singapore. In: Bonell, M., Meyer, O. (eds) The Impact of Corruption on International Commercial Contracts. Ius Comparatum - Global Studies in Comparative Law, vol 11. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19054-9_14
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